Point Lookout
History Even before the atomic war of 2077 Point Lookout was a backwater area of the country; hidden as it was within the swamp its hostile locals called home. When atomic fire rained from the sky Point Lookout was spared from direct bombing, but it did not emerge unscathed. In pre-war times Point Lookout was the sight of a break out of the New Plague and the efforts taken to contain it were halted by the uncooperative locals. This disease lingered in the swamp and when it combined with the radioactive fallout from the Great War the population suffered greatly. Horrific mutations become the norm for those who did not succumb to radiation poisoning. So horribly disfigured the locals were forced to revert to inbreeding to keep from falling into extinction. For decades Point Lookout remained isolated, its xenophobic locals becoming more violent and dangerous with the passing of years; yet even with such dangers Point Lookout could not remain untouched for long. Treasure hunters and scavengers seeking pre-war relics came to the haunted swamp land. The locals found their beloved homeland being drained of its valuables by violent outsiders; conflict grew between the swampfolk and the intruders. Yet still they came and many of them were brought to the foggy swamp by way of the Duchess Gambit. Tobar was the captain of the riverboat, a veteran sailor for many years he sailed the entire East coast on a trade route but halted after finding Point Lookout. The mystery and rustic nature of Point Lookout wasn’t what prompted Tobar to quit sailing but what was inside Point Lookout, Punga fruit. A unique plant native to Point Lookout punga fruit grows in abundance and has several properties that make it highly prized among post-war America. Due to a genetic mutation the punga fruit has what is known as “sticky” isotope compound. This isotope attracts other isotopes to itself before being moved through the host’s digestive tract taking the harmful isotopes with it. While this has the unfortunate effect of turning one’s waste a bizarre glowing green, it remains a natural way to protect oneself from radiation poisoning. Tobar took this miracle of nature and began to sell it at high prices to the people of the Capital wasteland and beyond. For several years Tobar continued this until he met resistance from a young man named Henry Eckhart. Henry was a native to Point Lookout and though he did not have the “Look” of the locals he was still accepted due to the fact his family had lived in Point Lookout for generations before the Great War even began. Henry was furious from a childhood of seeing his people’s land pillaged by invaders, when Henry was in his early twenties he made a pact with his brothers, sisters and friends that they would reclaim Point Lookout from the greedy and self-serving invaders. First Henry took his war band to blows against the tribals that squatted in the Ark and Dove Cathedral. Henry saw them as the worst of the invaders; they were heretics that worshipped false deities; as were all who did not worship Ug Qualtoth and the other great ones. The siege did not last long, the tribals were outnumbered and despite their best attempts the old church doors could not hold assault and soon gave way. The tribals that fought were killed while those that surrendered were enslaved. Many of these slaves were sacrificed in order to ordain the church into a temple of the true gods, so that the worship of Ug Qualtoth and the true eldritch gods may no longer be forced to be done in secret. Of the few lucky tribals that avoided the post-battle sacrifice and abuse one stood out from the rest. She had short cut red-hair and spoke with a foreign accent, her name was Nadine and she would provide the answers that Henry wanted. It did not take long before Nadine broke and revealed Tobar as the one behind the tribe; using this new information Henry ordered his war-band to Pilgrim’s landing to finish the fight for freedom. Upon arriving at Pilgrim’s landing Henry found that the few remaining tribals had banded together with Tobar and a few treasure hunters in a last ditch attempt to push back Henry’s war host. Henry ordered his men into the settlement saying that any one of his soldiers that did not draw the enemies’ blood would be sacrificed to the gods. Fanatical zealotry and rage drove his war band forward as they crashed against the settlement’s defense. The actual fighting took only twenty minutes as the tribals and their allies did not have the adequate supplies or training to withstand a siege; few tribals were offered the gift of a safe surrender and even then they were taken and abused before being sacrificed. Tobar himself suffered a grisly fate that is unknown to all but Henry, rumors persist that Henry threw him into a pit of feral ghouls while others insist Henry burned Tobar alive; what is known is that Tobar has not been seen since and Henry now controls the Duchess Gambit. With the invaders beaten Henry turned his attention to forming a small empire for himself. He claimed Calvert Manor as his own estate and set about outfitting it to suit his needs. Henry then for the next five years set about putting Point Lookout on the map, though at first unpopular with the locals Henry convinced them once he set about recreating Tobar’s punga industry and Henry’s own drug business. Point Lookout very much remains an isolated and backwater area, though Pilgrim’s Landing is growing the rest of the swamp remains full of mystery and danger. Culture Within Point Lookout Point Lookout’s culture is a mixture of occult, xenophobic and family beliefs. History and ancestry is very important within the culture of the locals, even the most inbred swampfolk can name their forefathers and mothers for at least five generations back. Secrets and esoteric are common throughout the swampy land, the locals’ occult and pagan religion only supporting the use of secrets; in some cases family secrets have been kept out of shame since before the Great War even began. Rumors run rampant and for every even there are thousands of different versions, the truth having either been twisted or lost in the mist. One cultural trait is very important to know if one were to travel to Point Lookout, and that is to mind one’s own business and stay out of the business of others. Due to Point Lookout’s location along the Chesapeake Bay fishing and ocean is very present within the local culture, every morning one could see fishermen descend into small paddle boats and drift out into the foggy bay to fish. Old fishermen tales around told around corner cafes and pubs, one such tales is very common and well known; the tale of beast of the bay. Whispered tales of something big within the bay, something no fishermen has been able to catch. Such rumors are common and are mostly nothing but superstitious nonsense but the similarities that persist throughout the many iterations of this tale give the legend of the beast some grounding within reality. Point Lookout has remained for the most part what it always was, a sleepy seaside town. The increase of the people, especially outsiders, has done nothing to remove the ever present silence that encompasses the misty swamp. Almost as if the land itself is a living entity intent on keeping Point Lookout as secluded as possible. Economy of Point Lookout Point Lookout’s economy is almost entirely based on three things, Punga fruit, drugs and moonshine. Punga fruit is sold as food and medicine to any willing to buy it. Yet to prevent buyers from growing their own fruit and putting Henry out of business the seeds to all punga fruit sold are removed before sale. These seeds are then ground up and left to dry before being sold as drugs to anyone willing to snort or consume the dusty powder; this powder known by its street name “Pow-pow” gives the user powerful hallucinations. The petals of the flower of punga fruit are also taken and sold as another form of drug that gives the user a sense of euphoria and a craving for food. Moonshine is another popular product exported from Point Lookout, a powerful grain based alcohol moonshine when consumed by a novice or light drinker can be lethal. With Henry's recent seizure of Whilhelm's wharf and the Anchorage Memorial, he has restarted the mirelurk farm that once exsisted inside the Memorial. This has led to him becoming the largest supplier of food in the Capital Wasteland, though since this has happened so soon the effects have yet to take shape. Military of Point Lookout Henry’s army stand at about 75 men and women strong, the entirety of them are natives of Point Lookout though not all are severly inbred and mutated. Each solider is tasked with arming themselves, because of this shotguns, rifles, pistols and melee weapons are more common than automatic weapons or anything that involves the firing of energy. Typically the soldiers make an attempt to armor themselves but more often than not they are dressed in everyday clothes with maybe a few shoulder and knee pads stitched on. Though do not judge such warriors on their appearance for each are deadly killers; what they lack in training and arms they make up for in raw experience. Each solider has grown up in hostile Point Lookout having to contend with smuggler raids, mirelurk infestations and pirate attacks; because of this each solider has learned that even with the most rudimentary supplies a good warrior can still fight and win. Driven by xenophobic rage and zealotry Henry’s soldiers are notoriously brutal and savage fighters. Relations with the Capital Wasteland Point Lookout is primarily a neutral faction within the capital wasteland and rarely takes sides. They are there to trade and little else; though despite this Henry has seized whether (Primarily through force) several structures within the Capital wasteland. All these structures hug the Potomac river and include the Riverboat landing, Whilhelm's wharf and the Anchorage memorial. Category:Factions